Dawn of Sorrow
by Shygirl98
Summary: A twist on the original Alice in Wonderland story. A short tale of how Alice met the Red Queen, and the journey to Wonderland begun.


By day and by night the hospital doors locked shut, as tight as the chains around our arms, feet and necks. The windows, splattered with blood and as cold as the winters themselves. Beds, coloured crimson from the pain and suffering the doctor placed on those that once came to him for help, but was left in a ditch by the dark forest over the hills. Their body scorched by burning flames, limbs ripped from the body and skin torn by the metal claws of a demon. Even the rats - scavengers of the night - were cautious of the remains. I, myself have been scarred mentally and physically by the doctors, so called medicine. He covered us with the beautiful colour of red and left the leaches to clean it up. Those who screamed for help had their tongue cut from their mouth with a sharp, swift blade. Those that tried to escape had their limbs broken by the doctors hand of so called, fairness. All the pain and suffering, became normal to us, a natural thing to occur in Castlewood Hospital for the mentally ill. I came here when i was only fifteen years young. How long since then, i do not know. My hair golden, eyes innocent. Now my hair is red with blood, full of tugs and dirt. My eyes resemble that of a devil, dilated with the drugs the doctor gave me and scarred with the horrors I have witnessed. The reason I came here, as I recall was simple, my father was too poor to feed the family. So he sold me to the doctor's men. My life, for the cruel price of a loaf of bread. However I do not know if that is even the truth. What if it wasn't even my memory, but that of another? Is this place even reality, or but a gesture of pain from my mind? An illusion? Or maybe the realm of another world? A world that is overcome by mans demons. A world of pain, fear and hatred. A world far from gracious, life giving and loving. What if?  
Immoral, I once called this place. Yet over the years, I fear I have become naive towards the torture that occurs here. The pain, the suffering, just what would come of it? What was it all for? What will happen to us when- no, if we ever are freed from the eternal chains binding us here. Like a spiders web, it grows larger as the spider weaves more to accumulate more food, and when the prey is trapped, death become inevitable. The more the prey struggles, the more painfully apparent that becomes. Truth, that is all that is. I guess I have just come to accept that, as should everyone else.  
I awoke to the sound of a scream, that of a small boy I believe. Day or night, I did not know, for the light and darkness of the outside world never reached us. I wish to recall my past life, assuming I had one. I wish to know how much time has past since my arrival here.

The next morning, I awoke from what seemed a deep slumber. Eyes throbbing, legs numb and fingers tingling, I turned my attention to another lost soul beside me. A young girl, age 8 or 9, I could not tell with all the dirt and scratches on her face and body. It was just my intuition. I noticed a small glimmer run down her cheek. Shinning, sparkling as the light of the candles enticed them,or so it seemed. It was as if a glimmer of hope, one she had kept inside her, one she followed, had just escaped her. It escaped her grasp and left. I could guess the reason she was crying, she has given up, ready to die, lost her way. The more a thought of it the more I was captivated. There was a darkness that creeped over her, one that frightened me. I tried to think of ways to communicate with her. But as she lay, thinking of what horrors would befall her, it became harder. Then my mouth moved, not of own accord.

"Of what genre are your thoughts, if I may?" I asked softly, trying too uplift the sadness on her shoulders.

"Wh...at do y..ou bel..ieve, is o..ur current sit..uation?" She replied, with a question of all things,forcing the words out.

"...We are trapped here, forever, suffering. Time is-"

"The white dog is a good dog, a good dog, good.

The black dog is a bad dog, a bad dog, bad.

He'll gobble you up and spit you out, and spit you out.

The black dog is a bad dog, a bad dog, bad!" She sung with all the words she could muster. At the end she burst out laughing, insanely. "Isn't it funny?! We are trapped here until time gives up on us! We have no control! But is time against us?

" What to you think? Is time against us?"

" The white rabbit says so"

"White rabbit?"

"Yes, Peter, the white rabbit. The one with the waistcoat and monocle. The one that is always running late! Even now he is. The irony, he says time is up, but he is running late!"

"I don't understand, what do you mean?"

"Time, time, tick, tock. Just how long will he take?! Stupid demon!"

"Demon?"

"You know, I think I'll tell him to leave you alone. You, will be the only one."

"Only what?"

"I'm Red, Queen Red, nice to finally meet you, Alice!"

"Queen Red?" I asked, heart pounding. I did not know the name, but somehow I felt I had been swamped with someone else's feelings. So much hatred and anger, discord and darkness.

"Yes!" She replied in laughter. " I am the one and only Queen Red! Off with you head! Off with your head! Haha!"

"How do you?"

know...my name?"

"Alice, Alice, Alice! Haha!"

"Just who are you?"

"Queen Red, Queen Red! Queen of Red and Hearts! Queen of blood and red roses! Tsk, you a while to catch on, doesn't it?

All of a sudden this anger, the anger of another, turned into fear. My own fear. As I paused, my eyes widened. My body began shaking uncontrollably, my breath became fast and shallow with no rhythm. I lost control of my entire body. I turned away hoping that everything would stop. But we have no control over time, do we?

A nurse, one that worked here came into my line of sight. She was rushing towards me with several others. She collided with my bed ad gripped my arm with her cold, rough hands. I rebelled. But my attempted failed. The tip of the needle chimed as it pierced me arm. It was somewhat funny. I have never heard that sound before from a needle piercing my skin. I could feel my mind slipping away. My head dropped to the pillow. I was slipping into darkness.

As my head met the pillow, the stone hard, dirty pillow, I could the the girl. The girl calling herself the 'Red Queen', being dragged of somewhere by the doctors. All she done was laugh. I couldn't see her face clearly, my vision was already becoming blurry. I started to feel vibrations from the bed. I guess it was finally here, my judgement. They were taking me to the judge of life and death in this place. I have finally become insane, now I have a reason to be here. But it didn't feel bad at all, instead it felt...good. Yes, that is the right word for it. I turned to the nurse, glared into her eyes and gave her a smile. "I don't suffer from insanity... I enjoy every, single, minute of it" I exclaimed, not to her, but to myself. As my life force drifted away.

I awoke, suddenly. Unable to breathe as I was choking on the fumes in the air. I jolted up gasping for oxygen, much to my surprise. My vision was unfocused and blurry, clouded with smoke. I lifted up my hands to the same level as my face, gripped them together ignoring the strain being put on my arms and wrists. I could feel the warmth emanating from them. A tear escaped from my eyes. "What a wonderful feeling." I gasped. "The white dog is a good dog, a good dog, good." I flinched as soon as the words escaped the grasp of my tongue. "Why did I just say that?" I began to panic as my vision cleared, also as I was gaining control over my body.

I had been released by my shackles, but how? There, at the bottom of my bed, were clothes. But how? All the beds, once occupied by people, empty. I shifted my body to the side of the bed in an attempt to walk over to the clothes. I swung my nimble legs of the bed, then forced my body up. But my feet met something warm on as the were placed on the ground. A warm, thick liquid. But I did not care. My body gave way as a had just gained balance. I was far too week. My tumble was greeted by something bulky but soft. As I raised my face from the object I hesitated to open my eyes, but just for a moment. It was on my face, the red warm substance. It also covered the soft, bulky mass. "This is...blood!"

There, lifeless, was the head doctor. The one that oversaw our care. There was a hole in his chest, left by the blade that tore through him. My eyes filled with tears. Tears of the oddest kind, tears of fear.

I struggled trying to raise my body. Feet slipping in the blood, unable to obtain grip. I release I could not move from this position that way. " I crawled like a cockroach, trying to escape the step of an angry person. Slowly, I moved further and further towards the clothes. Once the clothes became in arms reach, I clawed at the air. And with one final push, my hands met the clothes. My feet, again lost grip. I fell to the ground one again, and I felt pain once again. I remained trembling on the ground and I cried. "What is happening, just what?! Why? Please make it stop!" I shouted, to be comforted by a voice. "Let us escape this world, together Alice, will you accompany me to Paradise?" the voice asked. I turned my head to see the 'Red Queen' standing before me. Behind her, a tall man. I could only make out shapes of his body. "I told you time was up, why are u so surprised Alice? The white rabbit came to get me, Peter the white rabbit is here."

"Peter?"

"Yeah, this is Peter, shall we be of then?"

She offered her hand to me, and will my own will, I gabbed it. Peter pulled a large cape over us, everything became pitch black. "It will be ok Alice" The Red Queen spoke in such a calm manor. "Everything will go back to the way it was."


End file.
